Humcrush, Rest At World’s End (Rune Grammofon); and Torben Snekkestad, Conic Folded (ILK)

The Norwegian jazz scene is so fertile that anything with its roots in it can only thrive and multiply. The cracks between the more classic sounds of ECM and youngish upstarts like Rune Grammofon and Smalltown Supersound/Superjazzz leave plenty room for cross-pollination between jazz, noise and electronica, resulting in the sighting of some surprising new shoots. Exhibit A: new albums from Humcrush and Torben Snekkestad.

Group Bombino, Guitars From Agadez Volume 2

Agadez is a city and region in the Tuareg part of Niger. It is isolated geographically, with weak travel links and with inhabitants who speak a different language to the rest of the country. Sounds a bit like Norfolk. Sublime Frequencies‘ efforts in uncovering the most interesting, most ramshackle and most thrilling of cultural artifacts continues apace with the second volume of their Guitars From Agadez LP series, chronicling the endeavours of a bunch of Tuareg guitarists called Group Bombino – although some of these were also featured as part of Group Inerane on Volume 1. All a bit incestuous; sounds a bit like, erm, some county or other…

Flower/Corsano Duo at Bardens, 20/02/09

A quick-thinking and supremely talented young man with deceptive strength and incredible flexibility who rose quickly to the top of his profession and became a hero to many. En route to see Chris Corsano play at Bardens, I briefly stepped off the number 38 bus to see the shrine to the Iranian wrestler Takhti at the British Museum, pictured above.

BJ Nilsen and Stillupsteypa, Man From Deep River(eMego)

The e in eMego doesn’t stand for easy-listening, that is for sure. Over the last few months, the thoroughly revitalised eMego have sent forth a sublime salvo of the most intriguing and challenging of records. Much of their most recent work has come in the form of collaborations: KTL’s IV paired label boss Peter Rehberg once more with Stephen O’Malley, while Angel’s Hedonism represented further strange fruit from the meeting between Dirk Dresselhaus and Pan Sonic’s Ilpo Väisänen. The best of this estimable bunch, however, is the newest in a series of collaborations between BJ Nilsen and Stillupsteypa.

Tim Hecker, An Imaginary Country (Kranky)

The last solo Tim Hecker was such a favourite round here that pressing play on his latest filled me with a vertiginous mixture of excitement and trepidation. Crom only knows what I’d feel like if I ever did something genuinely thrilling or dangerous, like bungee jumping or hang-gliding or buying shares in a bank, I’d probably just explode in a flash of giddy panic.

Taylor Deupree, Live 1: Mapping; Giuseppe Ielasi, Aix (both 12k)

Over the last year, 12k has consolidated its position as the home of immaculately-produced electronic composition, and its forthcoming release schedule (a new Seaworthy and Lawrence English are imminent) suggests that it may well well continue to enhance its reputation this year. Before we get to those, a couple of very curious artefacts kick off its 2009.

Dälek, Gutter Tactics (Ipecac)

During Fennesz’s paint-stripping set at the Mike Patton-curated ATP in Minehead last December, Oktopus from Dälek could be seen down front nodding his head with the rest of us. And why shouldn’t he? Both Fennesz and Dälek have been fortifying their own walls of sound in live performance in recent years, using some huge and horribly weather-scoured bricks.

Tetragrammaton, Elegy For Native Tongues (Subvalent)

This is so high you can’t get over it…so low you can’t get under it…so wide you can’t get around it. Elegy For Native Tongues is a huge juggernaut of Japanese psychedelic dirge that blows opens the doors wide open for the new Subvalent imprint. Come right through and drown.

Emeralds, What Happened (No Fun)

Monday morning. London is covered with a thick, sparkling white icing, more snow than at any point over the last twenty years. Some are overjoyed at getting the day off work, and busy themselves making snowmen in the garden (my neighbour made a crap one. “Where are his arms?”, I asked. “A snowman needs arms”. He looked blankly). Some stay in and update their Twitter/Facebook status to something suitably OMG-ish. Some, presumably having freshly immigrated from the wilds of the Sahara or Shit-for-brains-itania, are seemingly “confused and distressed” by the unfolding events. As for me, I took a walk down the freezing cold street to the park with a big child-like grim on my face, listening to Emeralds’ new album. This really put goosebumps on my goosebumps.

Buffalo Collision at Vortex, 30/01/09

My new year’s resolution to see more jazz has remained remarkably resolute throughout the whole month, so much so that I’ve replaced the word January in my diary with Jazzuary. Uh-huh. After the bountiful good vibes of the previous night in Cargo, Friday saw me back to the Vortex to see a supergroup featuring 66.67% of The Bad Plus and a couple of elder statesmen of the NYC scene.